Rodessa Barrett Porter

Gospel singer Rodessa Barrett Porter, the youngest and only living member of the legendary gospel group the Barrett Sisters, was born on December 15, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, to Susie and Lonnie Barrett. She graduated from Englewood High School in Chicago.

Porter, a soprano, first sang in the choir of Chicago’s Morning Star Baptist Church. She then played piano at Mt. Nebo Baptist Church in Chicago from 1947 until 1950, when she joined her sisters DeLois Barrett Campbell and Billie Barrett GreenBey to form the Barrett Sisters, formerly the Barrett and Hudson Singers, consisting of Campbell, GreenBey, and their cousin Johnnie Mae Hudson. Campbell, like Porter, sang soprano, and GreenBey sang alto. Campbell also sang with the Roberta Martin Singers from the mid-1940s to the early 1960s, first recording as a soloist in their 1947 recording of “Yield Not to Temptation.” From 1953 to 1963, Porter served as a songwriter, pianist, and choir director at Galilee Baptist Church in Gary, Indiana. The Barrett Sisters released their first album, Jesus Loves Me, in 1963. They went on to release I’ll Fly Away (1965), Carry Me Back (1966), Coming Again So Soon (1973), God So Loved the World (1974), I’ve Got a Feeling (1987), The Barrett Sisters Live! Nobody Does It Better (1990), What Will You Do with Your Life (1990), Peacemaker (1991), The Best of the Barrett Sisters (1992), What Shall I Render (Unto God) (1995), Best of DeLois Barrett Campbell and the Barrett Sisters (1995), What A Wonderful World (1998), He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands (2002), and He’s So Wonderful (2011). Campbell released her solo album Through It All in 1994. GreenBey also performed regularly as a soloist, including on first Sundays at Chicago’s Lilydale Progressive Missionary Baptist Church.

The Barrett Sisters toured internationally and performed at Lincoln Center in New York City, Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., Orchestra Hall in Chicago, and Theatre-DeVille in Paris, France. They also performed for the King of Sweden and the President of Zaire. The Barrett Sisters represented the United States as Goodwill Ambassadors across Africa in 1983 and the South Pacific in 1987.

The Barrett Sisters were featured in the 1983 documentary Say Amen, Somebody, in the Gaither Gospel Series videos Rivers of Joy in 1998 and Build A Bridge in 2004, the 2010 concert film The Barrett Sisters in Concert, and the 2013 documentary The Sweet Sisters of Zion: Delois Barrett Campbell & The Barrett Sisters. They also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Bobby Jones Show, Living the Dream, Going Home to Gospel with Patti LaBelle, The PTL Club, TV Gospel Time, and Jubilee Showcase. The Barrett Sisters received the Stellar Awards’ Ambassador Bobby Jones Legend Award in 2009.

Porter lives in Chicago, Illinois. She and her late husband, Lee Porter, had five children. Her sister DeLois Barrett Campbell passed away on August 2, 2011, at the age of 85, and her sister Billie Barrett GreenBey passed away on February 28, 2020, at the age of 92.

Porter passed away on December 16, 2024.

Rodessa Barrett Porter was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on March 1, 2022.